NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2009 3
THEY already fear the Reaper.
place – and that’d thh t’t’s wherh e we come in.”i ”
Now insurgents in Afghanistan beware
Put simply, the Baggers look at a
the Bagger as the Navy’s unique airborne
wider area, fi nd something of interest,
surveillance helicopter joins the hunt for the
at which point a Reaper or troops can
Taleban in the skies of Afghanistan – fl ying
be sent in for a more detailed look, or
over tracts of Helmand previously regarded as
as Cdr Avison puts it, an extra layer in
terrorist safe havens.
the intelligence picture which begins
We can reveal that Airborne Surveillance
on the ground and ends in space with
and Control Sea Kings – commonly known as
satellite surveillance.
Baggers thanks to the large grey ‘sack’ which
Now it’s in theatre, SKASaC will be
contains the aircraft’s state-of-the-art radar –
there for the foreseeable future; 854
are playing a key role over Helmand.
return home this month with its sister
Their commander says in the fi rst months
squadron 857 trading places.
of operations, the Bagger crews have fed
“We are going out well prepared,
vital intelligence to Allied forces tackling the
well kitted out -– you won’t hear any
Taleban insurgency.
complaints from the lads and lasses
It’s the fi rst time the Mk7s have deployed
about equipment,” said Lt Cdr Steve
over land, building on lessons learned in Iraq
Lynch, 857’s CO.
six years ago when the latest variant of the
“Most of the personnel are delighted
Bagger was in its infancy.
to be doing a job that is operational.”
The eye-in-the-sky Sea Kings have been
The Mk7s were fi tted with a defensive
around since the mid-80s, serving principally
aid suite, new engines and extra armour
as airborne early warning.
for their Afghan mission. In the coming
That role began to change when new
months special rotor blades – already
radar, Searchwater 2000, was fi tted at the
used by Jungly Sea Kings in theatre – will
beginning of the 21st Century.
be added which will allow the Baggers to
Designed to identify potential aerial
fl y higher and longer.
targets, crews found the new radar system
The squadrons’ personnel have also
was also capable of tracking both maritime
been prepared for their new mission
and land targets – as the helicopters
thoroughly, including some infantry
ddemonstrated during the 2003 campaign to
training.
ooust Saddam Hussein.
“If you’re working alongside soldiers,
Back then, the ground role of the Baggers
it’s important that you’re not a dead
–– in offi cial military parlance SKASaC
weight on the ground,” says Cdr Avison.
((pronounced ‘skayzac’) – was in its infancy.
“Whether you’re up in the air or on ground,
SSix years down the line, those skills have
you have to go through fi ve weeks of
been honed – and committed over land in
training – and that’s how it should be.”
earnest for the fi rst time.
Aside from running around with SA80s,
854 NAS with Sea King Mk 7s and support
fi rst 854 and now 857 have undergone
personnel was dispatched east to Camp
intensive training by day and night in the
Bastion in May.
skies of Cornwall.
After a month acclimatising to conditions
That’s meant long hours, irregular hours
and exercising with Allied forces in theatre,
(a lot of fl ying in the dark to master night
the Sea Kings were sent aloft on missions
vision goggles courtesy of the nice chaps
from the middle of June onwards.
at 771 NAS – more from them next month)
“The job is to throw a light into areas
putting demands not merely on the Bagger
wwhich are regarded as a black hole – vast
community, but the Culdrose community.
aareas outside the ‘green zone’ in Helmand
“Air traffi c controllers, the logisticians
–– and give the commanders on the ground
getting all the kit ready, the galley working
aan idea of what is going on,” explains Cdr
into the night to feed our guys – the
MMatt Avison, Commander Sea King Force.
support from everyone on the base has
““Almost every sortie has produced useful
been fantastic. People have always said:
information and there have been many –
‘What do you need?’”
and signifi cant – results.”
If the response from the team at Culdrose
A few months ago we reported on the
has been heartening, then the feedback
impact the Reaper aerial drones – owned from commanders in Helmand has given
by the RAF, but some are fl own by Fleet air and ground crew a lift.
Air Arm pilots – were having on ground “For our men and women, this is a
operations in Afghanistan. challenge – and I’ve been surprised by just
So why the need for 854? how quickly we’ve shown we can shift from
Well, for a start, you can never have too sea to land,” Cdr Avison adds.
many eyes. But more importantly, Sea “Allied commanders in Afghanistan are
King does what Reaper doesn’t – it looks really impressed with what we’ve achieved
at the bigger picture. so far – no-one else in the world has the
● Dust devils – a Sea King pilot
demonstrates the art of landing in the
“Reaper looks at a relatively tiny area – all ability we have. Whatever the battlefi eld –
Afghan desert
with fantastic high-defi nition video footage,” land, sea or air – we can work in it, day or
says Cdr Avison. night, all weathers.”
“But to fi nd the needle in the haystack, you ■ Next month: How 771 NAS trained the
need to know where the haystack is in the fi rst Bagger crews for their Afghan mission
003_NN_Oct.indd 1 21/9/09 15:40:51
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